


you're my favorite book to read

by LavenderMandarin



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Lena is the owner of a bookstore, Light Angst, Love Confessions, and Kara starts to go to that bookstore after her previous favorite closes one weekend, and also because she avoids Lena a little bit when she realizes her feelings, but only because Kara gets hurt, but she gets hooked and starts going to Lena's bookstore instead, but you'll see that later, just that one day, not even permanently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28104696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LavenderMandarin/pseuds/LavenderMandarin
Summary: Lena is the owner of Bookstore Hideaway. Kara visits one weekend when her favorite bookstore closes that day and she starts frequenting.orboth of them being oblivious idiots
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 13
Kudos: 227





	you're my favorite book to read

**Author's Note:**

  * For [steelwing1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/steelwing1/gifts).



> so i finally finished!!! i'm really happy with how this turned out and it was honestly so fun to write!!!

Kara groans loudly, drawing the attention of several passersby. When she sees the odd looks they’re throwing at her, she smiles sheepishly and ducks her head, cheeks flushing bright red.

She waits for them to pass by before she places her face up to the window, narrowing her eyes as she peers into the darkened store to see if she can spot anyone inside. She places her hand over her head, blocking the glare of the sun. It’s empty.

It’s just her luck, really. On the one day she’s finally free, her favorite bookstore is closed.

She pinches the bridge of her nose and exhales through her nose sharply. She had been planning on buying a new book. She loves the library, but she likes to come to this bookstore on the weekends as a treat. Plus, she had recently heard about a new book called _Islands of Mercy_ being released.

She had been instantly captivated by the summary and had initially planned to come by and buy it from the store today.

Now, looking through the window at the empty interior, she’s pretty sure that window of possibility is closed.

She sighs and leans back against one of the display case windows of the store as she pulls her phone out of her pocket, leaning forward a little to reach it as she paws at her back pocket.

Pulling up Google Maps, she searches for the nearest bookshop and finds a pleasant-looking store that she’s pretty sure is new.

The pictures of the interior show it having soft lighting and looking rather cozy. She checks the walking time, _15 minutes,_ and tucks the phone back into her pocket as she starts walking down the street.

* * *

As she arrives at the storefront of the bookshop, she pulls her phone back out to check if she’s at the right place.

The blue dot for her position is directly on top of the red marker for her destination. Yep, it’s the right place.

She tucks her phone away and looks back up at the overhead sign.

 **Bookstore Hideaway** is in big, bold letters, front and center. Underneath is a smaller line of words: “Start a new chapter with us!”

She chuckles at how cheesy the line is before pushing her way into the store, relaxing at the familiar-but-not jingle of the bell above the door.

The interior is exactly like it’s shown in the pictures, and Kara grins. She’s used to some stores changing their lighting for specific pictures to make the place look more appealing and it’s refreshing that this bookstore is exactly how it looks in the pictures she saw earlier.

It’s warmly lit, not too bright but not too dim like some café bookstores she’s been to before. There’s a corner of the bookshop with some comfy chairs, as well as some benches and tables. The bookshelves are made of a dark wood, and she pats the one nearest to her, smiling at the way it feels, smooth and firm, beneath her hand.

She tucks her hands into her pockets and glances around again. The bookstore is small and practically empty, but she likes it.

It’s cozy and she takes in the smell of clean paper and fresh books happily, closing her eyes.

She’s startled out of her reverie when she hears someone muttering in one of the aisles before she hears a loud thud.

She jerks her hands out of her pockets and runs towards the disturbance.

She rushes into the surprisingly narrow aisle only to see a woman on the ground, holding a thick, bound book carefully.

“Are you okay?” she asks, the question coming out a single breath.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry, I just accidentally dropped this.”

The woman’s voice is warm and smooth, like honey sliding over her senses. Kara suppresses the urge to shiver and opens her mouth uselessly, unable to say anything.

The woman looks up then, and Kara loses all sense of anything but the woman in front of her and the narrow little aisle of books they’re in.

Her skin is pale, like she hasn’t been outside in forever, and Kara briefly wonders if maybe she’s a vampire. It would make sense, if she were being honest. Her lips are blood-red, and Kara knows it’s just her lipstick, but she has a feeling that even without the lipstick, her lips would still be a gorgeous red. Her jawline, from what Kara can see, is sharp enough to cut steel— _diamonds,_ even. Her hair is a dark, chocolatey color, and it looks smooth as silk. Kara wonders what it would feel like to run her fingers through her hair, whispering soft nothings against it. And her eyes. Her _eyes._

The woman’s eyes are _ethereal._

They’re a bright, luscious green. Vivid green like the lush rainforests she’s seen described in books, but with depth, like the forests she’s heard about, the hidden depths and darkness hiding behind the foliage.

Before she even realizes, she’s completely drowned in her eyes and Kara can already feel the massive crush settling on her shoulders. The woman’s eyes sparkle as she stands, flecks of hidden gold glittering as the sun lights up her face.

“Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t realize you were a customer.” The woman looks sheepish, and she sets the book down carefully before holding her hand out to shake.

“I’m Lena. I’m the owner of this store.”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a soft smile, and Kara’s heart damn near jumps out of her throat.

She stretches her hand out, making sure to steady the minute trembling she can feel. She grasps Lena’s hand firmly, shakes it, and holds on as she introduces herself.

“I’m Kara. Kara Danvers. It’s nice to meet you.”

* * *

Kara comes back the next weekend. She had walked out of the store in a daze last time, having completely forgotten to buy the book she had come for.

She and Lena had talked some more about their respective interests and bonded over books they had both read, and Kara had casually asked what Lena’s favorite was.

Lena had simply smiled mysteriously and offered her a proposition.

“I only tell that to people I’m serious about.”

Kara had flushed an _impressive_ scarlet red and had awkwardly bid her goodbyes, Lena chuckling the whole while, before backing out of the store, empty-handed.

She’s come back again, having managed to clear her day once again. Surprisingly, Alex hadn’t even interrogated her on why she was skipping Sister Night, all too glad to get to spend some time on a date with Kelly. She had thrown a suspicious glance at Kara, but at Kara’s persistent smile and insistence on her spending time with Kelly for once, Alex had backed out of the apartment, and less than ten minutes later, Kara heard the distinct rumbling of her motorcycle.

She had waited for another fifteen minutes, gathering herself and making sure she looked presentable enough. She was dressed in a semi-casual outfit, a crisp button-down with a set of brown slacks and her newly-polished Oxfords.

Now, after the consistent 15-minute walk, Kara is standing before the store again. The sign is still there and she can see that the inside of the store isn’t empty, so she’s sure it wasn’t just a dream. In fact, there are some new fairy lights strung around the storefront windows, so there’s no way it wasn’t here before.

She breathes in and out five times, trying to ground herself enough so she won’t accidentally end up doing something stupid like kiss Lena as soon as she sees her. Once she’s mostly sure she’s ready, she pushes through the door again, relishing in the light tinkle of the bell, before she steps into the store.

It still looks about the same, except there are some new decorations around. For one, the register had more personalized items up, and the shelves also have book stands up, propping up some of the newest books.

Kara strolls in casually, pretending not to be too concerned with anything and totally _not_ peering around the store hoping to see Lena.

Thankfully, the universe is on her side today, and Lena’s messy bun pops up from behind one of the shelves.

She blows one of the loose strands away from her face and places the box of books on the shelf as she waves at Kara.

“Hey, stranger!”

Kara flushes pink, hoping that the lighting will cover for it, and waves back.

“Hi, Lena!”

“What brings you back to my humble abode?” Lena waves her arms around the bookstore and Kara brings her hand up to muffle her giggle.

“Funny story, I actually forgot to get a book I was here for last week,” Kara explains, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.

Lena’s laugh rings through the quiet and Kara joins in after a beat.

“So,” Lena says, still smiling brightly, laughter glowing in her eyes, “Which book was it that you wanted to get?”

Kara flushes again, suddenly embarrassed.

“Um... it’s called _Islands of Mercy_?”

She sees a flash of recognition in Lena’s eyes before she smiles to herself.

“Yeah, sure! We just got it in yesterday.”

Lena leaves the box on the shelf as she walks over to the register. Kara follows along awkwardly, almost tripping over her own feet several times.

As Lena rounds the corner, putting the register between them, she crouches down behind the desk and starts rifling through some boxes.

“Sorry about this. I haven’t gotten a chance to set these out yet. They only came in a few days ago.” Lena’s voice is a little muffled from behind the register, but Kara can hear her fine.

“That’s okay! Thanks for getting them out,” Kara reassures cheerily.

Lena finally emerges from behind the register, her bun popping up over the edge of the desk first before the rest of her appears. She’s smiling brightly and she carefully hands Kara a copy of _Islands of Mercy_ which Kara takes just as carefully, careful not to damage the newly printed book.

“Thank you so much. Um... how much is it?”

Lena frowns slightly and checks her register.

“Um... let me see... ah! Here it is! It’s 21.99.”

Kara smiles gratefully and hands over her credit card. The transaction goes smoothly, Kara carefully looking over the book as Lena swipes her card.

“Is there anything else you need?” Lena asks as she hands Kara’s card back.

“Nope! I’m good! Thank you so much for this!”

“No problem,” Lena smiles, waving softly as Kara backs away towards the entrance.

“See you, Lena!”

“See you around, stranger!”

As soon as Kara is out of the store, she squeals and hugs the book to her chest. She’s both excited to read the book and also about her visit with Lena.

Skipping down the street, she realizes too late that she’s already in too deep.

* * *

“Hey, Kara? Why do you have so many books?”

Alex finally brings it up one day and Kara completely freezes, turning around and looking at Alex with a clear deer-in-the-headlights, caught red-handed look.

“I’m just... uhhh... I just saw a bunch of new books I wanted... to buy,” Kara answers eloquently, completely _not_ blowing her cover.

“Suuure...” Alex narrows her eyes suspiciously, studying Kara closely. She steps forward, and Kara steps back until she’s accidentally backed herself into the kitchen island. Alex leans in even closer, her eyes narrowing even further (Kara didn’t even know that was possible), and Kara gulps, leaning back.

“Kara, there’s clearly something up with this. I’m not stupid. Plus, you’re a horrible liar.”

Kara sighs, busted, and relaxes against the island.

“Fine, fine. There’s this new bookstore that’s open and I go every weekend.”

Alex studies her before making another observation.

“That’s not the whole truth. Why do you go there every weekend?”

“When did you get so good at asking all these questions?” Kara throws her hands up in the air.

“Since I married a therapist. Plus, I work for the FBI, Kara. I interrogate people all the time.” Kara doesn’t miss the way Alex puffs up a bit, proud of her own achievements.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. How’s Kelly, by the way?”

“Oh! She’s doing okay. She’s got a new patien— you’re changing the subject.”

Alex narrows her eyes again, suspicious again, and Kara finally surrenders.

“Fine, fine. But I wanna know about Kelly later, she’s still my sister-in-law, you know?”

Alex brushes her off and waves at her to continue.

“The owner of the bookstore... she’s...” Kara waves her hands around, unsure of how to describe the wonder that’s Lena.

Alex seems to get it, though, and bursts out laughing.

“Oh my god! You have a crush on her?! I _have_ to tell Kelly about this.”

“What?! Nooo...” Kara’s voice has suddenly grown very high and pitch (she has no idea why) and it only serves to make Alex’s grin even wider as she types away at her phone.

“I’m gonna call her right now.” Alex ignores Kara’s defense (rude) and pulls up Kelly’s number.

“Hey, Kelly. I need you to weigh in on something.”

Kara watches as Alex’s face softens when Kelly’s voice comes in through the speaker, a little bit tinny and distorted but still very much Kelly. She almost forgets why Alex is calling, too. Alex is so happy with Kelly and Kara can’t help but smile, too.

“Hey, Alex. What’s wrong?”

“Kara has a little... issue. She’s been going to a bookstore—a new one—and she’s crushing on the owner but she won’t admit it.”

Kara makes an indignant noise in the back of her throat, but Kelly doesn’t hear it through the phone.

“Okay, hand the phone to Kara, please.”

Alex hands over the phone obediently and digs through Kara’s fridge while Kara walks over to her bed.

“Could you turn off the speaker, please?”

Kara pulls the phone away from her ear and taps the button before holding the phone back up to her ear.

“It’s off.”

“I’m gonna ask you a few questions about the owner, is that okay?” Kelly’s voice comes through the speaker, warm and comforting.

“Um, sure.”

“Can you just describe her to me? Anything about her; how she looks, what she does, what her personality is like, anything.”

“Um, okay. Well, um, she’s the owner of a bookstore. She’s, um, she’s got green eyes. Gosh, they’re so _green._ Kind of like the rainforest pictures you see when you Google for the Amazon rainforest or something. She has really dark hair, it’s brown, but since the store is a little dimmer, it looks kind of black almost. It’s really pretty and wavy. Oh! She’s really nice, too! The second time I went we were already sort of on friend terms. She knows my name but she calls me stranger anyway. I kind of like it,” Kara giggles into the receiver, shifting the phone over to her other hand.

“Anyway, yeah. She’s got really pretty eyes and she’s got pretty hair and a pretty voice and she’s super nice,” Kara summarizes, suddenly remembering that she’s talking to Kelly.

“Okay, well... from what I’ve heard so far, it sounds like you have a crush on her, Kara.”

It’s easier to take from Kelly for some reason. After all, she _is_ a therapist.

“Oh.”

Alex suddenly pipes up from behind her, and Kara almost jumps through the ceiling. She hadn’t even noticed Alex coming in.

“Sounds more like you’re in love with her, Kara.” Alex’s tone is teasing but there’s an undertone of knowingness.

“Alex! When did you get here?”

“A while ago. You were comparing her eyes to rainforests,” she laughs.

“Stoooop,” Kara whines, swatting at Alex.

Alex leaves when Kelly asks her over the phone for some help, throwing a shit-eating grin over her shoulder at Kara on her way out.

“Go get the girl, sis.”

Kara pouts again at Alex’s retreating form before settling on the couch.

She can’t possibly be in _love_ with Lena.

Then again, Kara supposes if anyone would know, it would be Alex.

* * *

The next time Kara visits is... horribly awkward.

The entire time, she’s mortified, walking stiffly as she moves from shelf to shelf. The one time Lena walks over, concern furrowing her brow, and places her hand on her shoulder, Kara damn near jumps through the roof.

The next few visits only get worse until Kara accidentally shuffles so hard she bumps an entire shelf over. She’s pretty sure the color of her face could’ve rivaled the brightest of reds.

She stops going after that particular... _incident,_ citing it as not needing any more books when Alex asks and telling Kelly that “no, it’s not about our conversation.”

Everything just gets more and more awkward and Kara wrestles down her urge to go back and apologize and explain everything because there’s no way Lena would like her like that.

Unbidden, a flash of Lena’s eyes glinting with something as she hands Kara _Islands of Mercy_ crosses her mind and the seed of doubt has been planted.

Lena doesn’t like her like that.

Right?

* * *

Kara doesn’t get any time to explore her theory. She tries, she really does. In fact, it’s on her way to the bookstore that everything goes wrong.

She had gotten up and prepared herself to explain everything, confess everything and apologize for her behavior the past few weeks. She was halfway there, too.

She remembers it vividly.

_She steps out on the street, humming along to a tune in her head as she runs over what she’s supposed to say again. She’s halfway through her apology when frantic honking and yelling gets her attention._

_She turns just in time to see the license plate of the car hurtling in her direction before she’s knocked flat on her back. It takes her a minute to realize she’s supposed to feel pain, and she tries moving once before the agony sets in._

_The groaning of her ribs suggests one of them may be broken as she tries to move. She doesn’t get far; before she can get anywhere, the world fades away and she passes out on the street._

_The only thing she can regret is not getting to apologize to Lena._

And that brings her to the hospital, now, as she finally wakes up from her surgery.

Casting her eyes about the room, she sees Alex huddled on one of the chairs, fast asleep and curled uncomfortably onto the cushioned chair.

She looks around the room, looking for... she’s not sure who she’s looking for. Kelly? No.

Lena?

Why would she be looking for Lena?

She doesn’t get much time to ponder the question as the exhaustion sets back in and her eyes drift shut.

* * *

She wakes again to the hushed sound of whispering.

Alex isn’t in the room.

Kara perks up, listening as closely as she can, trying to make out the conversation.

“She got hurt. Yes, she’s okay now, she’s just asleep. She had surgery just yesterday. Okay. Yeah. I’ll make sure of it.”

Kara frowns curiously. Who’s Alex talking to? Kelly? Kara pushes the conversation to the back of her mind as unconsciousness grabs at her again. She yawns before succumbing to the pull.

* * *

When she wakes up a third time, things are drastically different from the previous two times.

For one, Alex is nowhere to be seen or heard, and, judging by how her normal chair doesn’t have a divot on the cushion, it seems she’s been gone for a while.

The next thing she notices is how dark it is out. There’s no natural sunlight coming in the window and Kara frowns before yawning.

The last thing, and, arguably the most important thing, is that Lena is here.

Lena is here. _Lena._

Kara freezes as soon as she registers her presence, and when her jaw falls open, it has nothing to do with exhaustion and everything to do with the fact that _Lena is here._

She pinches the skin of her forearm and flinches before looking back up at Lena, half-asleep in her own chair, right next to Kara’s bed.

She starts panicking as Lena stirs, yawning before her eyes flutter open. Her stomach makes a similar move as Lena’s green eyes land on her.

“Kara? Oh, Kara. Are you okay? I heard the news from Alex. You weren’t anywhere and I was so worried so I managed to get ahold of Alex. Is everything okay? What happened?”

Kara takes in the onslaught of questions and information with as much grace as she can muster, blinking herself wide awake as she thinks over her answers.

“Um, well, I got hit by a car when I was on my way to your bookstore but that was mostly my fault. I was thinking over what to say to you when I got to the bookstore. I needed to apologize for my behavior and tell you I love you. I think I’m okay; my ribs are still kind of sore but I think I’ll be oka-“

Kara pauses, thinks again, runs over her words, stops again, and then freezes.

Lena is staring at her with a similar dumbstruck expression, frozen in place.

“You... you love me?”

Kara grasps for an excuse but nothing comes to mind, the pain meds doing a number on her thinking, so she just confirms the truth.

“Yeah. I... I do.”

“You... I... wait wait wait. You love _me?!”_

Lena gets up and begins pacing around the room, running her fingers through her hair.

Kara winces. She didn’t expect this bad of a reaction.

“I mean, I don’t... you don’t have to feel pressured into anything and if you don’t want to see me ever again that’s okay too-“

She’s cut off from rambling when she sees Lena’s incredulous look.

“Don’t want to see you again? Oh, Kara. How could you ever think that? I love you, too.”

Lena suddenly pulls back as if shocked and Kara opens and closes her mouth, closely resembling a fish.

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

“Wait, you love me, too?”

Lena starts giggling and Kara joins in, bursting into laughter as they realize just how oblivious they both are.

Kara recovers first, wiping the tears from her eyes and holding her side as she smiles nervously at Lena.

“So, um, do you wanna go on a date with me?”

Lena’s smile widens, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she nods happily.

“Sure, stranger.”

* * *

Kara looks back in the mirror and sees Alex in the background, holding up a thumbs up as Kelly sits next to her.

“You sure she’ll like this?”

“Positive.”

Kelly nods, too, smiling gently at Kara. It makes Kara relax even more and she hugs both of them.

“Thank you guys so much. I wouldn’t be here without the two of you.”

“Remember, just be yourself. That’s all you need,” Kelly advises again, hugging back.

“I’m so proud of you, sis.” Alex squeezes a little harder before stepping back, a wide grin on her face.

“Now, don’t keep her waiting!”

Kara laughs her way out of the apartment and steps into the elevator. Even as the metal box is sinking to the bottom floor, Kara doesn’t think she’s ever felt more like she’s flying.

* * *

Kara steps out of the car and thanks the Uber driver as she looks up at the restaurant sign.

She checks her maps again, deja vu hitting her as she remembers how she’d first met Lena.

She chuckles when she sees the arrow is on the blue dot and tucks her phone away before stepping through the doorway.

The restaurant is small, cozy, and charming. Kara is in love immediately.

Food has always been the way to her heart, and there’s no better place than a pizzeria.

Lena waves at her from a comfortable-looking nook in the back of the restaurant and Kara smiles brightly before walking over. They’re both dressed relatively casually. Lena is wearing a pretty sundress that complements her eyes and Kara is wearing comfortable slacks and a sleeveless shirt on top.

As she walks over, Lena gets up and Kara moves in for a hug. They hold on for maybe a beat too long before Kara lets go and slides into the booth.

“So, do you have any recommendations?”

Lena begins telling Kara her favorites, her green eyes bright and lively, and Kara may not have taken in anything she said, but it’s worth it when she hears Lena’s happy giggle when she realizes Kara isn’t paying any attention.

“How about I order and you see whether or not you like it?”

Kara nods quickly, handing over the menu to Lena and watching as she waves over a waiter and puts in their order.

As the waiter walks away, Kara suddenly remembers something from their very first interaction.

“Wait, you never answered my question!”

Lena looks at her, confusion clear on her face.

“What’s your favorite book?”

Lena laughs, smiles, and holds a single finger up to her lips.

“I don’t know. Are we serious yet?”

**Author's Note:**

> to everyone who was promised a long book fic but did not get it, here is what it would've been if i had the inspiration to keep writing back then
> 
> thanks to everyone who's reading this! hope you like it!!!
> 
> also i'm on tumblr @catargott


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